Wall Street to Toast Its G.O.P. Overseers During Convention

By MICHAEL SLACKMAN

Published: May 21, 2004

Despite the talk about protesters overwhelming the Republican National Convention in New York City this summer, one sector of the city is rolling out the red carpet: Wall Street and its investment banks. They are showering the conventioneers with money for parties and other events to make the Republicans feel right at home.

Some of the main parties will be for Republican members of Congress who oversee the financial services industry. There will be brunches, dinners, dancing and late-night concerts for the conventioneers throughout the city.

One of the most celebrated guests will be Representative Michael G. Oxley of Ohio, chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, which oversees Wall Street, banks and the insurance industry. Mr. Oxley will be toasted at a dinner party in the Rainbow Room, at a loft with sweeping views of the Hudson River and at a financial services round- table brunch, according to people who work in the financial industry, who say their firms plan to contribute to the three events.

But the partying does not stop there.

J. P. Morgan Chase & Company is planning a reception to honor convention delegates from the roughly 20 states where it does most of its business; Goldman Sachs has discussed sponsoring a party to honor Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of western New York, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee; Credit Suisse First Boston plans a reception to honor Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming, who serves on the Banking Committee.

Though the corporation-financed parties are legal, and commonplace at political conventions, they take on added significance this year because of new laws that prohibit corporations from giving large donations known as soft money to national political parties and also forbid federal officials to raise such contributions, government watchdog groups said.

"There is no other loophole for corporate soft money," said Steven Weissman, associate director for policy with the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan group in Washington. "This is normal politics. They want to maintain a relationship which emphasizes access in order to achieve more influence."

There are two ways Wall Street plans to roll out the welcome wagon. Firms will sponsor their own events, or they will contribute to events sponsored by other organizations. Companies in other industries are also staging events; The New York Times, for instance, is helping sponsor a night out for the delegates at Broadway shows.

But the financial sector is among the most active. Some of the top Wall Street firms have agreed to contribute money to a party honoring Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of the Banking Committee, and the rest of the Alabama delegation, said people who work in the industry and are involved in making convention plans.

Like many large American corporations, financial powerhouses tend to hedge their bets, giving to both Republicans and Democrats. Some of the Wall Street firms, like J. P. Morgan Chase, have similar plans for the Democratic National Convention in Boston. A study shows that the financial industry is one of the biggest political contributors, outspent only by lawyers and the real estate industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington.

But some of New York's top financiers have a record of giving large contributions to Republican causes.

Henry M. Paulson Jr., chief executive and chairman of Goldman Sachs, is a finance co-chairman of the New York City Host Committee and has called around to his colleagues asking them to contribute to the convention's operating budget. As a co-chairman, he personally agreed to help raise $5 million to help pay for the convention, according to the host committee.

Employees of Morgan Stanley and their immediate family members gave more to the Bush campaign than the employees and family members from any other company, contributing $518,225 since the president began raising money in May 2003, said Steven Weiss, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics.

"These are among the most generous donors in American business and among the most influential," Mr. Weiss said. "They are heavily regulated by the government and are seeking to minimize government involvement in their business. So they reach out to both parties and attract major attention from party leaders."

Representatives of the Wall Street firms almost universally declined to comment by name, though most confirmed their involvement in the convention-related activities.

Adam Levine, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs said, "The Republican National Convention will be a great opportunity to showcase the city of New York and the resiliency of its people. Goldman Sachs is a proud sponsor of that event."

The convention will be held from Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, but organizers say they have already been planning their parties.

"There are so many parties going on you have to pick and choose the location and date rather early to try to lessen the competition," said Richard Hunt, a spokesman for the Securities Industry Association, a 600-member trade group. "Competition will be great every hour of every day."

Mr. Hunt said his organization, along with the Bond Market Association, another trade group, has planned a reception on Sept. 1 to honor Mr. Oxley and the other members of the Committee on Financial Services. He said they have booked "Penthouse 15," a large loft on the West Side of Manhattan, for a Wednesday night reception.

It will be a busy week for Mr. Oxley.

His press secretary, Tim Johnson, did not return five calls for comment. A receptionist in Mr. Oxley's office said that Mr. Johnson was the only one allowed to speak to reporters.

On the first day of the convention, Mr. Oxley and other members of the Financial Services Committee are to be "honored guests" at the Rainbow Room, said Pamela Sederholm, a Washington-area public relations consultant who said she is helping organize the party. An investment industry organizer said that the invitations called for sponsors to contribute $25,000 to $100,000 for the program, which will include dancing to midnight to big band music.

On Wall Street, the event is considered a must-attend party, according to several people who work there.

Unlike parties being organized by investment firms, this event is being thrown by a organization called the American Council for Excellence and Opportunity, of which Mr. Oxley is an honorary chairman, Ms. Sederholm said. She said the group will use the donations to pay for the event and then give what is left over to charities, a model similar to what Representative Tom DeLay, the house majority leader from Texas, abandoned this week after it received much criticism.

Not every event is intended for lawmakers involved with financial industry oversight. J. P. Morgan Chase, for example, has scheduled a luncheon to honor the women in Congress.

But the events tied to lawmakers with oversight of the financial services industry have drawn the most concern among government watchdog groups. Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a group that fought for the new campaign finance laws, said: "Members of Congress are throwing huge parties for themselves and having corporations or other interests pay for the event. The fundamental problem here is the interest gets to do a huge financial favor for a powerful member of Congress who they often have critical issues pending before."